Ultimate
by iceandfire66
Summary: As Shadow sits up at night, he ponders what it truly means to be the "Ultimate Life Form" and how his feelings for Rouge fit into that. Oneshot, RougexShadow.


**Ultimate**

**A Sonic the Hedgehog Oneshot**

**Warning: I own NOTHING related to the Sonic franchise!**

Ultimate. Such a description was meant to describe Shadow the Hedgehog perfectly. Gerald Robotnik had designed him to be the ultimate life form, the pinnacle of organic life.

And yet, as he sat beside the window in his bedroom, Shadow found himself questioning that. He often wondered what being ultimate fully entailed. What was appropriate for him to do? And more importantly, what wasn't?

His purpose in life was clear. Ever since the events at the space colony ARK over a year ago, Shadow had embarked on a number of adventures. And thanks to them, he realized that his mission in life was to defend Earth and its people, even if they wouldn't do the same for him.

He had changed beyond his goal in life, however. The hedgehog had made a number of friends since his awakening. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles…

And most importantly, Rouge. A few months ago, when their last adventure had ended, Rouge offered Shadow a chance to move in with her. The hedgehog could have easily afforded his own home with the huge paychecks given to him by G.U.N., yet there was something about the girl that he found captivating. She was confident, humorous, compassionate…

And that body…

He wanted to smack himself. Shadow detested having such thoughts. Through his personal experience, Shadow had learned that such attachments were a weakness. That knowledge strengthened his resolve to stay distant from most people.

And why did he even NEED attachments in any case? He was the perfect organism. Nobody else could rival his power, and the only person who came close was Sonic. Emotional feelings would only blur his perception of reality… right?

The hedgehog heard the door opening, snapping him out of his thoughts. Although his face didn't show, he was happy to see Rouge enter the room, though he quickly looked out the window at the nighttime sky again. Part of it was to keep himself from admiring how her nightgown starkly outlined every curve of her body.

"Hi there," she greeted.

"Hey," he replied.

As she stepped closer, the bat realized he was still looking outside.

"Something on your mind?" she asked.

He smirked a bit. "Shouldn't I be asking that? After all, you're the one who barged into my room."

The girl smiled. "Good point. I was just here to see what you were up to."

"Nothing out of the ordinary," he responded.

Rouge held her own. Used to his reserved personality, she wasn't going to be deterred so easily.

"Mind if I join you then?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Go ahead if you want."

The woman sat beside him on the bed, gazing at the stars.

"It really is beautiful out here," she remarked. "You'd never see stars like this in the middle of a city."

The hedgehog nodded in agreement. "Definitely not."

She leaned against him slightly, catching the hedgehog off guard. "Seems romantic, doesn't it, Shad?"

"I thought you saved the flirting for Knuckles," he commented.

She widened her eyes. "What?"

Shadow turned to her in confusion. "Isn't that why you're always bugging him about his Master Emerald?"

Rouge shook her head in embarrassment. "No! I just like teasing him."

"That's one way to describe flirting," he countered.

She reclined slightly. "Trust me, there's no chance I'd be interested in being anything more than a friend with that hotheaded echidna. He's not exactly my type."

Strangely, a wave of relief overtook Shadow. "I see."

Rouge was surprised at her friend's sudden interest in this matter. For all the time they had known each other, this had never come up.

"Why were you so interested anyhow?" Rouge asked.

Hiding his emotions, Shadow calmly turned to her. "I was just curious. You give him a lot of attention."

"Eggman gives Sonic a lot of attention, and they're not going out," Rouge replied.

The hedgehog smirked. "Only because Amy keeps that leash so tight."

The bat laughed. "You know, most people don't believe me when I tell them you have a sense of humor."

"It's because I usually have to hide it," he answered.

She raised her eyebrows. "Why's that?"

Shadow kept quiet for a moment, trying to figure out how to explain it. What was he supposed to tell her?

"When I was on the ARK, I had very limited human interaction," he began. "Most of the scientists saw me as a heartless freak of nature, so they didn't really talk to me on a personal level. All they would ask is how many times could I lift this… how fast can I run around that… nobody thought I might actually be a person. Until Maria, that is."

Rouge's eyes widened a bit at the sound of the girl's name. She knew Shadow cared for her even to this day. And for some reason… a reason she knew well… it made her jealous.

"So you loved her since the day you met her?" Rouge inquired.

Blushing a bit, Shadow shook his head. "First off, I don't believe in that love-at-first-sight crap. Besides that, I didn't love Maria in a romantic sense. I loved her like a good friend. Yet even so, I was attached to her."

Rouge nodded her head. "I could see why. It's unfair honestly, Shadow…"

He turned to her. "What's unfair?"

The woman sighed. "You've helped save the world on more than one occasion. And despite this, so many people mistreat you. G.U.N. has hunted you down on more than one occasion. And even today, some people still see you as too dangerous to keep alive."

The hedgehog nodded. "You're right. But I've forgiven humanity before. And their opinions hardly matter to me anymore. I only care about my friends and what they think."

The bat was surprised at first. Shadow rarely spoke of friendship.

"Your friends?" she asked.

"Yes," he responded. "Sonic, Tails, Amy… all the people I've connected to since my awakening. But the opinion I care about most… the person I care about most…"

Smiling, he turned to the bat. "Is you, Rouge."

Blushing a bit, the bat widened her eyes. "Me?"

He nodded. "You were always there for me, especially when I needed your comfort the most. I… I…"

Suddenly, Rouge noticed something shocking. Shadow, the bravest and most fearless person she had ever met, was nervous. It seemed like he was almost sweating.

"Shadow?" she asked with concern. "Are you okay?"

He sighed. "I'm not."

"Well what's wrong?" the bat asked.

"I'm conflicted," he admitted. "The reason I've always tried to be distant from people… the reason I act so emotionless around everyone… is because I don't want to risk becoming attached to someone and losing that person the way I lost Maria."

Rouge softly held his shoulder. "What happened to Maria was awful, but I doubt it would happen again."

"How could you possibly know?" he inquired.

"Things have changed," she replied. "You have friends who can help you now even if someone IS in danger."

"Even so… these feelings I have now make me nervous," he added.

"What?" she said with genuine confusion.

Rouge didn't even move as the hedgehog leaned towards her.

"I don't know what to think any more," he explained. "I'm starting to see you differently, Rouge. I'm wondering if maybe… we should try being more than friends."

The bat was speechless, only able to silently stare at Shadow with her mouth slightly open.

After a few seconds of quiet, the hedgehog blushed and turned away. "I see… well I respect your decision, Rouge, and-"

Before he could even finish, Shadow felt her lips come crashing against his own. He returned the kiss fully, softly holding Rouge in his powerful arms.

After a few minutes, the bat broke the kiss. "How long have you felt like this?"

"Well don't get me wrong, I never used to see you this way," Shadow replied. "But I do care for you now. It developed gradually."

She smirked. "I've been admiring you too, Shad."

"Oh have you now?" Shadow inquired. "Have you been attracted to my body as well?"

"How can I resist?" she cooed.

The hedgehog chuckled, and Rouge was pleased that for once he was positively responding to her flirting attempts. Whenever she had tried in the past, the woman had felt like she completely failed at trying to attract him. Yet now it seemed like he genuinely wanted her. And she was happy to give the boy what he wanted.

"In that case… why don't you just spend the night in here?" Shadow asked.

Lowering her eyelids, the bat crawled into bed besides him. "You don't think we're moving too fast?"

Shadow smirked. "If there's one thing I value above everything else… it's speed."

The girl grinned in agreement, snuggling against Shadow as the hedgehog lied back.

The ultimate life form gazed out the window, pondering what his future would entail. Of course there were details to consider if things became serious. He was immortal and would thus never age. But Rouge was mortal just like anyone else, which meant he'd lose her eventually.

Besides that, there was always the chance that either he or she could die in combat. Eggman was still on the loose, which meant anything was possible.

Right now though, none of that matter. All Shadow cared about was being next to the person he cared about most.

Wrapping his arms around Rouge, the ultimate life form continued to reflect on his life, slowly realizing what perfection truly encompassed…

And maybe, just maybe…

Being ultimate had far more to do with attachment than Shadow thought.


End file.
